1. Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to plastic display cases, and more particularly concerns the advantageous combination of the particular characteristics of different plastic materials for use in constructing the main body and hinged closures of video cassette display cases, respectively. Such video cassette display cases frequently have a casing, as well as a hinged closure device that can be opened for the slidable insertion or withdrawal of a video cassette, and that can be closed for retention of a video cassette inside. The materials for these display cases also can be advantageously combined to enable the customers to view clearly the interior of the case and its contents through the casing, for example, the advertising jackets of prerecorded video cassettes, while other materials can add to the durability of the display case, such as at the hinge area. In certain embodiments particularly adapted for use with video cassettes, the casing is designed such that during the slidable withdrawal of a video cassette, the advertising jacket may be retained inside the display case. Retention of the advertising jacket inside the case helps keep the advertising jacket in good condition.
2. Brief Description Of The Prior Art
Reusable plastic cases have many applications for the storage of various items. When constructed of transparent plastic material, such cases display the contents while also protecting them. Video cassettes and their associated advertising jackets are commonly stored and displayed in such plastic display cases.
Commercial prerecorded video cassettes for rental and sale usually are accompanied by an advertising jacket designed to enhance their marketability. These advertising jackets often are placed on display in public areas of rental shops, stores, or libraries so that customers may browse through the selections. However, extensive handling of a bare advertising jacket may cause it to show the effects of wear, which diminishes a video cassette's resale value and its appeal to customers. Therefore, it is common practice for merchants or libraries to display such video cassettes together with their advertising jackets in individual translucent or transparent plastic display cases so that the printed information on the jacket can be seen by customers while protecting the jackets from handling wear. One such display case design is a plastic sleeve, open at one end of the sleeve, with a closure device mounted adjacent to the open end. The closure device may take the form of a cover which is connected to the case by means of a so-called "living hinge". Such display cases ordinarily are constructed of a single piece and a single type of material such as a single plastic.
There are at least two desirable characteristics for the material from which a video cassette display case is made: (1) transparency, so that the video cassette advertising jacket can be viewed clearly, and (2) resilience, so that the living hinge is durable and resistant to fatigue. Unfortunately, of the plastics commonly available that are economically suited to construction of the display cases, there currently is no single plastic which adequately exhibits both of these qualities. Therefore, either transparency or resilience, or both, are sacrificed in a display case of single-material design.
Among the types of transparent plastic commonly used for single material prior art display cases are (a) polystyrene, and (b) impact modified polymers of styrene, such as polymers of butadiene and styrene, including those currently sold by Phillips Petroleum Company under the trademark K-resin.RTM. (hereinafter collectively referred to as "butadiene-styrene"). These materials are used because their transparent quality allows the inside contents, such as a video cassette advertising jacket, to be seen clearly. However, polystyrene and butadiene-styrene also are relatively brittle in high-frequency living hinge applications. In a commercial environment, such as a video cassette rental business, display cases are likely to be opened and closed quite frequently, for example, during the insertion and removal of video cassettes. A living hinge made of such a material is likely to fatigue to the point of failure at a relatively early point in time, causing the hinged closure panel to fall off. Therefore, single-material polystyrene and butadiene-styrene display cases suffer from a relatively high rate of living hinge breakage, and therefore have a shorter useful life.
The living hinge failure problem can be solved by using a more resilient plastic such as polypropylene or impact modified polypropylene (collectively "polypropylene"), which also are used in single material prior art display cases. This material is more durable in a living hinge application, as it is relatively resistant to fatigue. However, polypropylene is not transparent as is butadiene-styrene or polystyrene; rather, polypropylene is relatively hazy in appearance. The hazy quality of polypropylene impairs a customer's view of the contents inside such a display case, for example, the advertising jacket for a video cassette, making the case less desirable from an aesthetic and marketing point of view.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide an improved display case that overcomes the aforementioned problems in prior art display cases.
It is a specific object of this invention to provide such a display case having a more durable living hinge on which a closure panel is mounted while simultaneously clearly displaying the interior contents.
It is yet another object of certain embodiments of this invention to provide an economical video cassette display case that clearly displays a video cassette advertising jacket while having a more durable living hinge on which a closure panel is mounted.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a display case that economically utilizes the advantageous properties of two types of plastic.
A still further object of this invention is to provide a display case that protects a cassette advertising jacket from the effects of wear.
It is another object of this invention to provide a display case that retains the advertising jacket in the display case during the insertion and withdrawal of a cassette.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a display case that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture, easy to use, and that conveniently stores a video cassette in its original advertising jacket in an attractive and functional manner.